Needle.



J. R. REYNOLDS.

NEEDLE. APPLIUATION FILED DEC. 23, 1908.

Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

wraisa COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 00., WASHINGTON, n. c.

'nnrrnn s'rnrns PATENT enrich.

JOHN R. REYNOLDS, ornanrronn, CONN CTICUT, assrcaoa orrie siuYir'H MANU- rscruame coivrriinr, or Haarroan, connn'crrcnr, A conroaarron or GON- NECTIGUT.

NEEDLE.

To all whomr'fiinayooncern V Be it known that I, JOHN R. R irnonns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, county of Hartford, and State of dles with a certain class of sewing machines, and particularly with book sewing machines, the curved needles employed in such machines having usually had a curvedbody portion and a straight shank integral with the body portion and lying at an angle thereto, the shank extending toward the curve of the body portion. Such needles,

while they have been reduced in size at. and

near the point, have been of substantially the same size throughout the shank and the major part of the body portion. There has, however, of late years, especially in certain classes of work done on book sewing machines, been a considerable increase in the number of pages which form the signature, these pages, as a rule, being provided by increasing the number of folds in the signature, though, in certain cases, the pages are increased by introducing folded inset sheets. In either case, the strains set up upon the needles of book sewing machines increase, of course, as the number of folds of paper through which the needles must pass increase. Further, in sewing books by machinery, the perforations through which the thread is passed by the needle should be as small as possible for the reason that if the perforations are large they present an unsightly appearance when the book is opened, this being particularly true of that class of books known as flexible bound books, which open so widely as to dislcose the fold in the signature. Further, in binding books, as is well known, the entire back of the book, before the cover is put on, is heavily smeared with glue, and, if the perforations through which the thread passes are large, the glue will penetrate through them and disfigure the inside of the book, this being particularly true of books in which the paper used is heavy or is glazed. For these reasons, it is not feasible tomeet the increasing strains Specification of Letters Patent;

Applicationfiled December 23, 1908. Serial lioteififlfir r f Patented Nov. is, 1.913.

to which the needles are subjected by reason of theincreased number of sheets'inthe signature to be sewn, byinaking the needles from wire of'largerf gage, because it is. evident iftlie diameter of the needles is increased, the sizeofthe perforations in the signatures; must be necessarily increased. Further, in booksewing maohines,the body portion of the needles is usually supported during the'sewing operation by a needle guide: Increase in the size of the needles would, therefore, necessitatea corresponding'incr'ease: in: the size of the guides which would involve the partial reconstruction at least of the large number of machines on the market if they are to be adapted for sewing signaturesformedby a largennmber of sheets. i! V r The? present invention hasfor its object to produce an improved needle which shall :have themeta-lcontained therein so disposed as to meet the strains set upon it by the increased number of sheets in the signature, 7

and to effect this without increasing the size of the body portion'of the needle or that portion of the needle which passes through V the paper.

' With this and other objects in view, the invention consists in a certain improved construction which will be fully described and specifically pointed out.

Referring to the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the' improved needle, the view being twice actual size. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of'Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig.1. Fig. 4 is a view of the blank from which the needle is formed. Fig. 5 is a view of the blank after it has been grooved, the thread carrying eye formed therein, and the shank bent to form the attaching eye, the side of-the blank which is nearest the observer being that which forms the inner side of the needle, as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a view of the blank shown in Fig. 5, the blank being turned at right angles to the position shown in that figure.

Referring to the drawings, the needle illustrated comprises a body portion 1 and .a shank 2. This shank is integral with the body portion, it being formed by bending the stock or blank from which the needle is made, so that the shank lies toward the curve of the body portion, as shown in the ably heavier than the body portion. This is apparent not only from the construction shown in Fig. 1 but from the appearance of the blank, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6. In these figures, it will be seen that the shank part of the blank increases in size abruptly, this increase in size beginning at the point which is to form the bend between the shank and the body portion. The shank therefore. is made to contain an increased volume of metal, so that it may withstand the strains set up on it and at the same time this is accomplished without increasing'the size of the body portion of the needle. To further increase the strength of the shank of the needle, this part may be flattened, as shown in Fig. 2, andthis fiattening may, if desired, be continued through the body portion of the needle. By this construction, the needle is greatly strengthened and this is accomplished without increasing the size of the body of the needle. The perforations through which the needle passes will, therefore, not be increased in size. Further, needles made as described will pass through the supporting needle guides ordinarily used on book-sewing machines at present upon the market, so that these needles may be used with such machines without any change in the construction of the machines.

What is claimed is A curved needle for book sewing machines comprising a curved body portion and straight shank extending toward the curved body portion and formed integrally therewith, the shank including the bend which connects it to the body portion being of increased size as compared with the body portion, the shank and body portion being fiattened.'-

In'testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. 7

JOHN R. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

A. WHITE, T. F. KEHOE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

